- Fast Car - Tracy Chapman cover -REMIX 2-

  • Thread starter Thread starter mark skinner
  • Start date Start date
mark skinner

mark skinner

Well-known member
Hello , this is my first mix of this cover song. The guitar parts kept running through my head so I thought I would try to cover it. Appreciate any crits or suggestions for improvement. Thanks .. mark
soundclick.com

Fast Car by mark alan skinner

self taught multi instrumentalist obsessed with creating music. #indie #jazz #blues #experimental #singerSongwriter #cello #instrumentalist #indie #jazz #blues #experimental #singerSongwriter #cello #instrumentalist
soundclick.com soundclick.com
 
Really nice arrangement of instrumentation and the mix. The percussion was slightly monotonous to my ear at the beginning, but it could be my ears having a hard time understanding all the lyrics, so I was distracted elsewhere. Every once in a while it just got a bit mumbly, but, again, could be my old ears. Or, articulation, or just needing (my favorite!) a little ducking around consonants. A different voice on the harmony might be nice.

P.S. These are my *opinions*... Your stuff is always up there, so thanks for giving me a reminder of how a good acoustic mix sounds.
 
Very nice cover of this one. I liked the sounds and tones all around - no real nits there. The only things I noticed were that the vocals got just a little pitchy here and there on a word or two and that the programmed drum part at the choruses sounds a little clumsy. It kind of seems to miss its entrance (I expected to hear a little drum fill or something to signal the arrival of the chorus) and then do an odd hit right after the chorus starts. I'm not sure what's going on, but it threw me for a loop both times there.

Nice performances all around!
 
mark skinner said:
Hello , this is my first mix of this cover song. The guitar parts kept running through my head so I thought I would try to cover it. Appreciate any crits or suggestions for improvement. Thanks .. mark
soundclick.com

Fast Car by mark alan skinner

self taught multi instrumentalist obsessed with creating music. #indie #jazz #blues #experimental #singerSongwriter #cello #instrumentalist #indie #jazz #blues #experimental #singerSongwriter #cello #instrumentalist
soundclick.com soundclick.com
Click to expand...
I think it’s good - maybe run the vocals a bunch of times - then record - they don’t seem so confident as I think they should - good stuff - specially the slide parts.
 
Real nice performances and really nice instrumental arrangement.

Great clarity on everything.

I don't like a lot of reverb, so there was too much of that for me.

There is a bit of a "sterile" feeling across the mix. Like things are missing low midrange - somewhere in the 400hz - 1600hz octaves. Not real bad tho.
 
@keith.rogers , @famous beagle , @Papanate , Thanks guys for the listen,comments and suggestions.
I think I'm going to just re-record the vox tracks. They were done several days apart and as @Papanate said they are lacking confidence. I was actually reading the lyrics in several takes. I did melodyne them for pitch problems but they still came out a little wonky.
@famous beagle , I'll also look into the chorus drums issue. @TripleM , I'll look at the master EQ a little closer and play with it some. I got No suggestions from Ozone master assistant except for a slight drop a 40hz. and a slight boost around 14k. Thanks again for lending me your ears and your help. mark
 
mark skinner said:
Hello , this is my first mix of this cover song. The guitar parts kept running through my head so I thought I would try to cover it. Appreciate any crits or suggestions for improvement. Thanks .. mark
soundclick.com

Fast Car by mark alan skinner

self taught multi instrumentalist obsessed with creating music. #indie #jazz #blues #experimental #singerSongwriter #cello #instrumentalist #indie #jazz #blues #experimental #singerSongwriter #cello #instrumentalist
soundclick.com soundclick.com
Click to expand...
I dig this. Sounds great.

guitars are really nice.

I’m not sure if it’s the way it’s sung or the reverb, but there are a few spots where the words can be mushed in with the reverb. might be the thick reverb or the vocal delivery in those few parts. The “country” twang/mush-mouth ( :-)) takes over in certain parts…(trust me. I do it too). It’s interesting since some parts are sung clean and just like the song and then some parts go into fully “country” - 12 beers deep feel. I’m not mentioning this as a dig. it’s what I’m noticing on first listen.

When the song picks up (“Remember Driving…Driving in your car) the drums seem to get a bit shuffled up at the beginning of that. something sounds a touch off. (intro fill?)

My mix would likely not bring in the backing drums/percussion in for quite a bit, but that’s just me. I think the nice guitars and vocals could cary this for a while.
 
That thing going on about 30 left - what is it? Is it hard struck plectrum and palm mute on a guitar? Anyway, it's all attack in a way that attracts a lot of attention. Do you want that?

The vocal: I know that you and the others have your doubts about it and if you re-do it, fine. But keep this one, because the way you've delivered it here, without your usual confident delivery, makes it vulnerable and really interesting.

I like the song and I like your cover. You're onto another good 'un here.
 
Hey Guys , thanks for the comments and suggestions. The link now reflects mix 2. I did some drum adjusting and got the kick flowing better. I also dropped it a good bit on the 1 beat. @dobro , I think that was the main reason the attack on the left plucked nylon guitar was so loud and abrupt. I also tamed it a little with dynamic EQ.
I did redo most of the vocals. Not a huge difference, but I think the phrasing and pitch is better. I also reduced the vox reverb a little.
I think I'm going to live with this mix for a while until I regain some objectivity. Appreciate it .. mark
 
I like this one better - the chunky acoustic works nicely with the drums now to accentuate the rhythm. This one doesn't have that thing the other one had that attracted attention. I just settled into the song, I could just settle into the lyrics and the song story better. It's such a good song, right?

I like how you put it on the shelf for a bit to wait for the ears to refresh. But I bet when you come back to it, the tweaks will be minimal. ?

Any way to bring out the 'his' better in the line 'body's too young to look like his'?
 
Last edited:
OK , I'm calling this one Done . ?
I've made some mix changes and Gary Brun , a friend in Norway mastered it for me. It's Way further than I could have gotten it by myself.
The link now reflects the last changes.
I "really" appreciate all the listens , crits , comments and suggestions. Moving on .. mark
 
Nice take on the song... Embarassingly, I personally never got this tune? until this version; even the recent Luke Coombs cover didn't do it for me.
Thank you Mark!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top